Body-focused mindfulness meditation: using the mind-body connection to combat stress

             We tend to think of our minds and our bodies as separate entities, with our mind serving as a pilot that controls what our body does while remaining relatively independent from it. While this perspective is understandable given how unconscious we are of how the body influences the mind, it is, in fact, a fallacy.  The mind is a product of the brain, which is closely connected to and influenced by other systems in the body.  Understanding these interactions between body and mind is vital to understanding the nature of stress and how we can deal with it. 

Imagine you’re out hiking somewhere in the wilderness when suddenly, you see a grizzly bear lumbering down the trail towards you. Before you are even consciously aware that a deadly predator is blocking your path, your body has already activated your sympathetic nervous system, which is your flight, fight,  or freeze module. It makes your heart rate increase, your pupils dilate, and your airways expand while shutting down all non-essential functions, thus preparing you to attack, run, or hide. Your body has responded to the threat before you feel scared or know what you are supposed to be scared of. 

This mind-body relationship is a two-way street. Our thoughts can also activate our physical stress response. Although most of us who are fortunate enough to live in developed countries don’t face life-threatening situations daily, we do experience lots of psychological stressors. Exams, mean bosses, 30-year fixed-rate mortgages, glorious five-year plans, and college funds weigh heavily on our minds. This incessant worrying about the future tricks our body into thinking we are in constant danger. This causes the release of stress hormones, which divert our body's resources away from “non-essential” functions so that we can cope with these imaginary threats to our safety. Unfortunately, these “non-essential” functions include sleep, digestion, memory formation, and immune functioning. Thus, worrying can make you vulnerable to all kinds of physical ailments, including heart disease, diabetes, insomnia,  ulcers, and all sorts of infectious diseases. 

  Now, before you start worrying about how much you worry, and then worry about how much you worry about worrying, know that there are several things you can do to help you reduce your stress levels. One technique I find very helpful is body-focused mindfulness meditation.  Body-focused mindfulness meditation takes advantage of the two-way relationship of the mind and the body to help you calm down and relax both physically and mentally. Here’s how it works.

Step 1

Find a place to sit down where you feel comfortable and are unlikely to be disturbed. If you are under a time constraint, set a timer. This will keep you from worrying about the amount of time you have,  so you can simply focus on the exercise. Even a session as short as 10 minutes can help reduce stress levels. 

Step 2

Slow down your breathing. If it helps you, try breathing in for a count of three, holding your breath for a second, and then breathing out for a count of three. Once your breath is slow and steady, move on to step 3

Step 3 

When you’re stressed out, there are always several physical symptoms. Scan your body and find one that is particularly noticeable to you. It could be anything from tension in your muscles,  to the pounding of your heart, to the grinding of your teeth. Personally, I always have a  burning feeling in my stomach when I’m under a lot of stress.

Step 4

Once you’ve selected a symptom, focus on it. What does it feel like? How does it change as you observe it? Try to simply experience this feeling without labeling it as good or bad. Just focus on opening yourself up to it. 

Step 5

Like all mindfulness exercises, body-focused meditation takes practice. During your meditation, your mind will wander. That’s ok. When you find your attention drifting to other things, gently redirect it back to the physical sensation you’ve chosen to focus on. The more you meditate, the better you will get at this.

During the course of this exercise, you will probably notice a decrease in the intensity of your physical stress symptoms. Your muscles will relax, your heart rate will slow down, and you will feel calmer. Because these physical sensations of stress contribute to the intensity of your psychological distress, this will help quiet your worries. Additionally, focusing on physical manifestations of stress also teaches us to think of our anxiety in physical terms. By recognizing our stress as an automatic physical response to our thoughts rather than an indicator of real existential threats, we can examine our stressors more objectively. Each time we feel the stress response rising in our bodies, we can tell ourselves that it’s just a reflex and that we aren’t actually in danger. This mental clarity will then help lessen our physiological stress response. 

If you're feeling under the gun, I strongly recommend taking some time to do a little body-focused meditation. If you don't have a lot of time, try it for 10 minutes.  A little goes a long way.  It’s important to note that body-focused meditation alone probably isn’t enough to help you combat the stress you face daily. It is also essential that you eat right, exercise regularly, get adequate amounts of sleep, form and maintain close relationships with family and friends, and, if necessary, see a therapist. However, Body-focused meditation can be an important weapon in your arsenal, especially when you feel overwhelmed.